Jennifer Love Hewitt talks joining Fox's '9-1-1' as 'broken' Maddie

Thursday

LOS ANGELES -- Fox’s “9-1-1” is bracing for impact as it heads into Season 2.

The popular series about first responders will follow up a seismic first season with a two-part premiere that sees Los Angeles hit by an earthquake (airing 8 p.m. Sept. 23).

The cast and creators of the series stepped away from their on-screen fire engines, 9-1-1 call centers and police badges Thursday to stop by the Television Critics Association summer press tour to talk season two.

A clip before the panel teased a look at the earthquake ripping through Los Angeles and impacting the show’s various characters. But the earthquake isn’t the only thing bringing changes to the show.

“9-1-1” is blazing forward without one of its biggest names -- Connie Britton.

The actress exited the show after the first season, having only signed on for 13 episodes. But the 9-1-1 operator won’t simply vanish from the character’s stories, said executive producer Tim Minear.

“We are honoring the character of Abby, we aren’t forgetting about her,” he said, acknowledging the door is open for her to return if she wanted to.

The show is hardly lacking in star power, even without Britton. Peter Krause and Angela Bassett lead a cast that also includes Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi and Oliver Stark. But in season two, it adds one major name to its roster -- Jennifer Love Hewitt.

The actress, who got her start on Fox’s “Party of Five,” returns to the network as Maddie, the sister of Buck (Stark), who is balancing the trauma of an abusive relationship with a desire to help people.

“She comes to her brother, broken and bothered by what is happening in her life and needing to start over,” Hewitt said, noting Buck will help her become a 9-1-1 operator.

The show brings Hewitt back to TV in a big way after some time off. Unlike Britton, who had a short-term commitment, Hewitt is in it for the long haul.

“As long as the show is here, I will be here,” she said.Buck had a habit of finding trouble for himself in season one, but Stark continues to find himself shared plenty of screen time with Britton in Season 1, as Buck became Abby’s love interest. In Season 2, he will also find a frequent scene partner in Hewitt.

“Connie leaves big shoes to fill, so I think that was a fear going into the season,” Stark said. “But I tell you, Jennifer has more than filled that void. And I think she brings a lovely dynamic to the show. It’s been a real joy.”

Other highlights from the panel:

Krause’s firefighter Booby begins the new season with a new girlfriend in Athena (Bassett), and try to shake away the darkness of his first season struggles. “We’re letting go of some of the darkness of the first season,” Krause said. “He’s not carrying his demons as much as he was in the first season.

Bassett, who is coming off the success of “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” said she has no plans to direct “9-1-1” right now like she did with “American Horror Story.” But if she did, she wouldn’t want something as logistically difficult as an earthquake episode.

Ryan Guzman joins the show as a new firefighter and Army vet, who will cause some jealousy with Buck and be introduced in the buff. “You get to know my character very well right away,” Guzman said.

The show averages four cases an episode. Eating up that much story each episode, not to mention the intense and sometimes bizarre nature of the emergencies, Minear said the second season will explore all kinds of cases. “We will hit hi-tech, low-tech and no tech,” he said.

Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or Hunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com. Hunter is a member of the Television Critics Association.

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